His Blackmailed Bride

‘A way that won’t tarnish your halo, you mean. Yeah, I

can see it now. By the time you’re finished, he’ll be at your feet, begging you to give him a chance to make you happy.’

Paige caught his sleeve as he paced by. ‘Then I’ll write him a letter.’ Quinn stopped and turned to her, his blue-green eyes on her face, and she hurried on, ‘I’ll—I’ll tell him I can’t go through with the wedding. And then I’ll leave. Right now. I have my luggage here, even my passport.’ She waited, but he said nothing. ‘That would work, wouldn’t it? I’ll go away for a while. You can go back to… to wherever it is you came from, and…’

Two hard lines etched beside his narrowed mouth. ‘Wonderful,’ he said softly. His hand snaked out and grasped her wrist, and his voice exploded with rage. ‘Do you think all men are fools? I’ll leave and you’ll return—is that it? And then you’ll tell Alan you’ve had a change of heart, you never should have cancelled the wedding…’

Paige shook her head. ‘I wouldn’t. I swear I wouldn’t…’

She cried out as his fingers tightened on the fragile bones in her wrist.

‘You’re hurting me,’ she gasped.

‘Am I?’ he growled, drawing her to him. ‘I sure as hell hope so.’

‘I didn’t lure Alan into anything. He wanted me.’

‘Damned right, he wanted you.’ His mouth twisted as he leaned closer to her. ‘What man wouldn’t, once you turned those eyes on him? I should know.’

Her cheeks pinkened. ‘You weren’t innocent. I didn’t seek you out, hunt you down…’

Quinn’s eyes blazed. ‘When a man is interested, Paige, an honest whore tells him her price first.’

Her hand was a blur as it swung through the air and cracked against his cheek. The sound of flesh striking flesh echoed through the room.

‘You son of a bitch,’ Paige said in a whisper. Her violet eyes darkened to indigo. ‘You know what I’m going to do, Quinn? I’m going to marry Alan, whether you like it or not—and there isn’t a damned thing you can do to stop me! You were absolutely right. He’ll believe whatever I tell him.’

‘He’ll believe what the computer printouts tell him. Your father’s a thief.’

‘It isn’t my father your brother wants,’ she said coldly. ‘It’s me, and he’ll take me on any terms—even if they include forgiving my father.’

There was silence, and then Quinn nodded. ‘You’re good, Paige, but not good enough. You forgot one thing—our little romp on the beach the other night.’ He smiled unpleasantly. ‘Something tells me Alan won’t want you after I tell him about that.’

Her chin rose as her eyes fixed on his. ‘If you do,’ she said softly, ‘I’ll have to tell him how you forced yourself on me. How you almost raped me. Who do you think he’ll believe then?’

She thought, for an instant, she had pushed him too far. His face darkened, his eyes turned to glass. Paige held her breath, readying herself for his attack. Then, just when she was sure her heart was going to leap from her chest, he did the unexpected. He smiled.

‘Sweet, sweet Juliet,’ he said, his voice almost a purr. ‘Thank you for showing me your true face. It’s hard to look into those eyes and remember what a bitch you really are.’ His hand flexed more tightly around her wrist. ‘You’re right—Alan will fall for whatever lies you tell him. And then you and your thieving father will have it all.’ Paige said nothing, and Quinn twisted her towards him. ‘I’m right, aren’t I?’

Her wrist hurt beneath the clutch of his fingers, but not as much as her heart. To think she’d wanted this man to make love to her. To think she’d almost given up the safe haven of Alan’s arms…

How I hate you!

‘Yes,’ she said, ‘and there’s nothing you can do about it. I’m telling you that there’s going to be a wedding today.’

He laughed softly. ‘You’re right.’ His arms began to close around her, imprisoning her against him. ‘There damned well will be a wedding today. But not in this house. And not between you and Alan.’ He paused and a smile touched his lips, never warming the coldness in his eyes. ‘You’ve left me no choice, Paige. There’s only one way to stop you. You’re going to marry me. You’re going to be my wife.’

She stared at him, stunned. Somewhere in the distant reaches of the house, there was loud laughter, and Paige wondered crazily if everyone had heard what Quinn had said and they were all in on the joke.

‘Wh… what?’

He shifted her against him, and she felt the hardness of his body. Last night, the feel of him against her had made her breathless with desire. Now it terrified her. He smiled, and she knew he’d sensed her fear and drew pleasure from it.

‘Leaves you speechless with happiness, doesn’t it?’ The smile faded, as quickly as a light doused by the flick of a switch. ‘There’s no other way I can protect my brother from you.’

She stared at him, waiting for the laughter that would tell her he was making some kind of ugly joke, but his eyes were expressionless.

‘You… you can’t be serious…’